Hoping to find a dependable performer willing to accept any athletic challenge? Place a quick call — even consider putting him on speed dial — to Lower Dauphin’s Jack Miller.

A few of his basketball-playing teammates might need to be on that list, too.

Miller made a trio of clutch plays in the final 17 seconds — two at the offensive end and one defensively — as a resolute Lower Dauphin side claimed a 55-52 triumph in the first boys’ basketball game contested at the spacious, suburban locale Bishop McDevitt now calls home.

Tuesday night’s success — which featured clutch efforts down the stretch from just about everyone who touched McDevitt’s sparkling new floor — also kept LD in sole possession of second place in the Mid-Penn Keystone Division and two games behind league-leading Susquehanna Twp.

Well, guess who’s coming to Hummelstown on Friday night?

And not for dinner.

“That’s great,” Hofsass said. “It’s been a while since we had a big game there. Friday’s a game for us to get back in contention to win a division title this year, which would be awesome.”

Needless to say, the Falcons needed Tuesday's win to make Friday count.

“I couldn’t be happier right now,” said Miller, who also dished out a couple of assists. “They wanted this game, but we wanted it a little bit more.”

Soph Milik Gantz had his second scintillating effort in as many outings for McDevitt (9-5, 5-5), posting a game-high 21 points while grabbing nine boards and dropping six dimes. Dyllon Hudson-Emory added 20 points, eight boards and three blocks for Jeff Hoke’s Crusaders.

Once the 6-4 Gantz knocked down a pair of free throws with 31.5 seconds remaining, McDevitt owned a tenuous 52-51 edge in a remarkably tight contest with countless momentum swings in the closing moments.

The last five minutes, in fact, featured a half-dozen lead changes.

And one more was on the way.

On the ensuing possession, Hofsass’ methodical Falcons worked the ball around the perimeter until soph Matt Seip — positioned at the foul line — executed the high-low to perfection by delivering a terrific entry pass to a sealed Miller in the post. One finish later, LD was back in front.

Just 16 or so seconds showed on the clock.

McDevitt called time once the ball reached midcourt, drawing up a play designed to retake the lead and maybe even win it. And when Justin McCarthur shook off a defender and flashed powerfully toward the hoop, a go-ahead score seemed likely when the skilled 6-0 junior lifted off.

Miller had a different idea.

Mounting a strong defensive challenge, Miller forced McCarthur to change his release point just enough. An instant later, McCarthur’s effort glanced off the iron and Miller latched on, immediately drawing a foul with a mere 2.9 seconds to go. Just one more obstacle remaining for the burly senior.

Make that two.

Well, Miller canned both freebies, upping LD’s lead to three points. All that remained was to make certain the Crusaders didn’t knock down a game-tying 3-ball and force overtime.

Gantz nearly came through.

Advancing the ball upcourt at a rapid pace, Gantz uncorked a running trey that hopped off an unfriendly cylinder and tumbled to the floor. LD’s winning streak had stretched one game longer — at the expense of a McDevitt club hoping to christen its new playpen with a memorable result.

Didn’t happen.

“They won this game,” Hoke admitted.

Early on, with the Falcons playing at a favorable tempo and able to jam the ball inside to Miller repeatedly, Hofsass’ fundamentally sound bunch confidently attacked McDevitt. Even when the ball didn’t swing inside, the nervy Kulina stuck the Crusaders with a couple of soft pull-up jumpers.

“We wanted to play through the post, because physically we thought we had an advantage there,” Hofsass said. “Jack made that big layup at the end ... and two big free throws at the end. These guys are competitors, they’ll battle. Honestly, that’s our greatest quality.

“It’s not like we’re looking on the floor and, oh, we have all this talent,” Hofsass said. “But I do have guys who are some tough-assed kids who will compete.”

Kulina also popped a running trey at the end of the first — similar to Gantz’s last-gasp effort at the final horn — that fell and gave LD a 16-11 lead. And when Miller picked up his second foul, the 6-4 combo of Seip and Tommy Bowen also proved effective working the painted area.

Everything added up to a 26-18 edge at the break.

Intent on changing the pace and climbing back into the game, Hoke’s Crusaders cranked up their assortment of trapping defenses in the third quarter. That put the Falcons on edge and brought Gantz’s open-court abilities into play.

Even in the half-court, Gantz was beating defenders and getting to the tin. And when he wasn’t looking to get his own shot, he set up others.

“We moved him to the point,” Hoke said. “It’s a tough matchup for others that haven’t seen him. ... He’s getting more and more comfortable being a floor leader. Teams have trouble guarding him.

“He’s doing a good job and it does take pressure off Justin. But we gotta make shots.”

One way is to get easier shots by turning the other guys over. And, in the third quarter, the Crusaders’ D helped get them defensive stops — and perked up the attack.

“They’re really good at some things defensively that cause problems,” Hofsass said. “It’s not so much the trapping, but all the switching and they’re so long and athletic.

“Obviously, in the third quarter, we struggled just to get shots off,” continued Hofsass, whose club also picked up five assists from Luke Rutledge. “But we kind of managed to right the ship there just enough. We had the pace more where we wanted it in the first half and it kind of got away from us.”

“Absolutely. We had to quicken the pace,” Hoke admitted. “When they’re deliberate, they’re good. When they run their stuff ... they do a great job of sealing in there. And their guards can move the ball better than you think. You think you can pressure them, but you can’t.”

Yet the Crusaders did use pressure successfully.

And thanks to nine Gantz points — along with six more from the long-limbed 6-6 Hudson-Emory — McDevitt managed to pull into a 35-all tie with a wobbly LD group by the end of the third.

Game definitely on.

Soon the see-saw was working feverishly. Three times early in the fourth, McDevitt bounced confidently to three-point leads. Twice — both times on Seip buckets — LD was back within a single point. And when Rutledge canned a trey from the top of the circle, the game was tied 42-42.

Moments after the score reached 48-all following a Miller finish with 1:33 to go, Miller challenged Will Pierce under the hoop, forcing another miss and snagging another board. After a quick timeout, Ryan Naccarato buried a deep trey from the left wing off a Rutledge swing pass to put LD ahead.

“That was a big shot,” Miller said.

Just 53 seconds remained.

Appropriately, Gantz penetration set up a Hudson-Emory deuce that drew McDevitt within one (51-50). Then, after Colten Nagy missed the front end of a one-and-one, Gantz strode to the line with a chance to put the Crusaders in front. Once both shots tumbled through the hoop, Hoke’s bunch led.

Miller, though, just saw it as another challenge.

Or two.

Or even three.

All of the Falcons did. So much so, it seemed like any time LD needed someone to make a play, someone did. Whether that was finishing, a defensive stop, beating pressure with a pass or dribble. Whatever needed to get done repeatedly got done by a cohesive group full of drive and fire.

“That’s how we are,” Miller said. “Whenever we need points, we get them.”

Plus, LD's group thrives when presented with a challenge. And it's a group that came in packing plenty of confidence following an earlier 66-60 conquest of the athletic Crusaders.

"Rarely do we have someone score 25. Usually, we’ve got a couple guys at 12 and 10, a couple guys at seven [and eight]. When you do that, it’s a great way to play. Guys aren’t hunting shots all the time, which I think is one of our strengths. We’re balanced.”

And it works.

“We thought they’d come firing back at us — and they did,” Miller said. “We got up on them early, but they came right back. ... Once we got points back, we don’t back off anybody.”

Obviously, they didn’t.

Surprisingly, McDevitt’s major challenge came at the offensive end. Not only did the Crusaders misfire on all 13 of their 3-point efforts — McDevitt was 21 of 56 from the floor — but McCarthur bagged just seven points. Meanwhile, long-distance specialists Caleb Barwin and Donte Vaughn went scoreless.

“We didn’t make one shot outside of 10 feet,” Hoke lamented. “Dyllon’s fadeaway [near the end of the third quarter] was the longest shot we hit all night. ... How are you gonna win?